10 cars to avoid buying

Smart ForTwo

This diminutive model is small even by microcar standards and is woefully underpowered. It's saddled by an eccentric-shifting transmission, is largely impractical with only two seats and negligible trunk space and delivers a rough and noisy ride. On the plus side it’s able to park in roughly half the space of a normal car. It’s among the worst performing models tested by Consumer Reports, and takes a leisurely 14.6 seconds to reach 60 mph. Fuel economy is decent (but not spectacular) at 34/38 mpg city/highway; unfortunately the ForTwo requires premium-grade fuel, which tends to siphon off any financial savings at the pump.